Sodom and Gomorrah

The sins of these cities is so great that the time has come for their destruction. Abraham at this point starts to intercede for these cities. He starts with fifty and asks the Lord that if there were fifty righteous down there would he spare the city and God says yes. The conversation continues until Abraham gets to ten righteous. God once again tells Abraham that for the sake of ten righteous he would not destroy the city. At this point the conversation is ended and the Lord leaves Abraham. The cities are then destroyed with only Lot and his daughters left alive at the end. Lots wife was saved from the city but turned back and was turned into a pillar of

Many Christians have picked out “clobber” passages or verses in the Bible that are supposed to undoubtedly condemn homosexuality. However, these fool-proof “clobber” passages have been contested, such as Leviticus 20:13, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be put upon them.” Many conservative Christians interpret this as damning homosexuality indefinitely; many liberal Christians claim it condemns gay ritual sex in a temple and males having sex in a womans bed. Another verse, Leviticus 18:22, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Again, conservative Christians take this is as condemning evidence but progressive Christians take it as, again, a verse condemning gay ritual sex in a Pagan temple or men having sex in a woman's bed.

Lot was so fearful of the violence and rape that the men intended to bring upon them that he became desperate. He was not only fearful after the beginning of the men’s pressing, but when the angels first arrived as well. In verse 3, Lot, “presses them” to stay with him, obviously scared for them to stay outside all night, knowing what the men of the town are

In chapters five and seven of the Book of Matthew, it reveals that some may not be granted entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven after facing judgment. An analogy is made that the good tree of heaven cannot possibly bear bad fruit just like a bad tree cannot bear that of good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7: 19-20) indicating the tradition view of Hell being a dark, fiery, pit of depraved spirits. In the Gospel of Mark, Hell is referred to as “Gehenna” which is a term associated in Hebrew scripture that dictates it a place of the wicked. Hell is a place where God’s judgment has inscribed the sin filled life upon one’s spirit. In the Gospel of Luke, Hell is referred to as a place where sinners are “perished”. In the parable of the rich man and lazarus, the rich man whom deemed to hell requests to warn his brothers of the afterlife, “Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16: 31). This draws a similar comparison to the rejection of Jesus’s resurrection in the greatest sacrifice to repent for all humankind’s sins. God grants the gift of mercy and infinite love to all, but a soul can be condemned to Hell due to their free will and the

It is not true what some of the tales say, that the ground burns forever, for I have been there. Here and there were the marks and stains of the Great Burning, on the ruins, that is true. But they were old marks and old stains. It is not true either, what some of our priests say, that it is an island covered with fogs and enchantments. It is not. It is a great Dead Place--greater than any Dead Place we know. (Benet 316)

Film and novels cannot be a part of the dystopian genre without having certain characteristics. Among these characteristics Parable of the Sower displays the traits needed to create a dystopian novel. Parable of the Sower belongs in this genre because it illustrates a restrictment of independent thought, the natural world is distrusted, and citizens live in a dehumanized state.

The fire represents hell. No longer is fire used as a tool, it is now used as a weapon to punish innocent people, whether it be emotionally, or even physically. "On the third night, as we were sleeping, some of us sitting, huddled against each other, some of us standing, a piercing cry broke the silence: 'Fire! I see a fire! I see a fire!"

To illustrate, Edwards elucidates the next destination for the unrepentant Christians, “the world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you. There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell's wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon.”

The tone of “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet is ominous. Throughout the entire first paragraph the word forbidden is used at least six times. The word forbidden is often associated with negative outcomes. This gives the reader a feeling of danger which helps to create an ominous tone. Another word Benet uses repeatedly throughout the story is death. On page 4 John states that the place where the Great Burning occurred was the greatest Dead Place they knew. They obviously knew of more than one Dead Place. Calling homes and cities dead places proves that John’s people had a rather dark outlook on life. Also, the words dead places make some readers think of a graveyard, which often brings about an ominous feeling. The ominous

“Then [Abraham] said, ‘Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak once more. Suppose ten are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten I will not destroy it’” (Genesis 19.32). Abraham was bargaining with God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The perception of death as a tragedy is also manifested in Kindred’s and Cousin’s reaction to Everyman’s plight. Being relatives, they rightly enquire Everyman’s destination, promising to live and die with him. Everyman informs them of God’s summon through Death for him to go and give an account of his deeds on earth. To Everyman’s disbelief, they turn down his request. Kindred says:

Beneath me, this awful city, it screams like an abattoir full of retarded children; and the night reeks of fornication and bad consciences.”

After a successful test of atomic bomb, Oppenheimer quoted the Bhagavad Gita saying “Now I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds. In the story, By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benet, the main character John learns of the downfall of pervious society that ended due to nuclear warfare. Nuclear warfare began around the 1940s, which would be right around when this story was written; which, more likely than note, had an influence on this story. In By the Waters of Babylon the reader learns about the “Place of the Gods”.

From the very first page, A Tale of Two Cities submerges us into a world of black and white, good and evil by the utilization of doubles. The previously mentioned quotation, with both "Light" and "Darkness" reverently capitalized suggest that both qualities are linked to God: or in the very least, implicate that there exists a universal and divine law of good and evil, which encapsulates all of us. The capitalization of "Heaven" and "Hell" further into the quotation reinforce this hypothesis that Dickens is introducing us to a world where exists a divine moral code that all must adhere to or face the consequences. Further proof of the validity of this moral code is the death of the evil Marquis. Because he is unwilling to evolve towards "good", he dies without the Divine gift of immortality.

The Valley of Ashes is a waste ground where the poor and hopeless live. It symbolically represents the moral decline of society and how the rich feed their desire with luxurious items that only benefit them and pursue in reckless behavior. Overall the